The present invention relates to automated handling of telephone calls or the like initiated by a service request, which normally signifies an explicit request for an operator, for example by dialing of a 0 without more digits (0xe2x88x92 call). Certain aspects of the invention relate to intelligent network type handling of such calls, for example, by triggering access to a control resource on a signaling network in response to the operator request and then processing the call through a front-end platform to automate selective processing of such calls.
The written description uses a large number of acronyms to refer to various services, messages and system components. Although generally known, use of several of these acronyms is not strictly standardized in the art. For purposes of this discussion, acronyms therefore will be defined as follows:
Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN)
Automated Alternate Billing Service (AABS)
Automatic Number Identification (ANI)
Call Completion (CC) operator
Call Processing Record (CPR)
Central Office (CO)
Common Channel Interoffice Signaling (CCIS)
Common Channel Signaling (CCS)
Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC)
Data and Reporting System (DRS)
Directory Assistance (DA)
Generic Data Interface (GDI)
IntereXchange Carrier (IXC)
Integrated Service Control Point (ISCP)
Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN)
Intelligent Peripheral (IP)
Line Identification Data Base (LIDB)
Local Access and Transport Area (LATA)
Local Exchange Carrier (LEC)
Multi-Services Application Platform (MSAP)
Operate Services Position System (OSPS)
Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS)
Point in Call (PIC)
Point of Presence (POP)
Prefix Digit Interpreter Table (PDIT)
Primary Rate Interface (PRI)
Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP)
Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)
Service Control Point (SCP)
Service Creation Environment (SCE)
Service Management System (SMS)
Service Switching Point (SSP)
Signaling System 7 (SS7)
Signaling Point (SP)
Signaling Transfer Point (STP)
Simplified Message Desk Interface (SMDI)
Traffic Operator Position Switch (TOPS)
Transaction Capabilities Applications Part (TCAP)
Trunk (TR)
Although modern technological developments offer an increasing variety of sophisticated data communications, the plain old telephone service (POTS) call remains the most common form of human-to-human communication. Many types of telephone calls originally required assistance from a live network operator. Many of these services have been automated. For example, if a caller dials a 0 followed by a ten-digit destination number, the telephone network typically routes the call to an automated alternate billing service (AABS). The AABS platform provides a prompt and collects additional information to facilitate one of several available automated billing procedures. The AABS platform and its automated handling can provide collect call processing, bill to third party processing or credit/calling card billing.
Originally, such services required live operator assistance. Today, however, the 0+ dialing pattern routinely signifies a request for automated processing and no longer can be viewed as involving an explicit request for an operator service. Typically, the caller reaches an operator only in the default situation in which the automated handling is unsuccessful for some reason.
In the modern competitive telecom environment, many different carriers provide competing toll services. In many cases, the customer subscribes with one service provider for intra-LATA tolls, for example with the local exchange carrier; but the subscriber receives inter-LATA service from a different carrier (often identified as an inter-exchange carrier or IXC). Although there is some increasing competition for the intra-LATA toll call services, most often these calls can still go to the AABS equipment of the LEC. However, there are many different companies that provide the inter-LATA service, most of which now deploy their own AABS type systems. If the caller dials 0+ ten digits, the end office examines the dialed digits of the destination, determines if the call is an inter-LATA or an intra-LATA call, and then routes the call to the preferred carrier that has been pre-selected or picked for the particular type of toll call. Consequently, 0+ calls from any one geographic area must be routed to many different AABS systems and/or operators of the different carriers, based on subscriber selections of carriers for the relevant types of services.
The telephone industry also has developed a variety of systems providing automated directory assistance. This is not an operator service request but a request for directory service. The caller dials a number such as 411 for the directory assistance system. The network connects the caller""s station to a computer system, which receives speech or dialed inputs identifying the city and name of the desired party. A specially trained directory assistance operator may come on-line at some point to refine the search. An operator may select the listing from a directory database based on the caller inputs, but with little or no actual conversation with the caller. In some advanced systems, the computer automatically looks up the listing corresponding to the input information in the directory. In either case, the automated equipment provides a synthesized speech announcement of the telephone number of the desired party.
Many of the automated directory assistance systems also offer an automated call completion service. In such a case, when the system announces the destination number, the system also prompts the caller asking if the caller would like for the system to complete the call. The caller assents by dialing a specified digit, by saying xe2x80x9cyesxe2x80x9d or by simply staying on the line for a set interval. Upon detecting assent to the call completion service, the directory assistance system automatically routes the call through the telephone network using the identified destination number obtained from the directory database.
Although AABS systems and automated directory assistance systems have eliminated live-operator handling on many common types of calls, many users still initiate calls by simply dialing a 0. A call in which the customer dials 0 and waits for a network action is referred to as a xe2x80x9c0xe2x88x92xe2x80x9d (zero minus) call. In existing telephone networks today, when a customer picks up the handset of the telephone and dials a 0 only, the telephone service provider""s network routes the call to an operator switch. The operator switch in turn routes the call to an operator position station. The operator position includes telephone equipment to allow a live operator to answer the voice call and converse with the calling customer. The operator position also includes data terminal equipment to allow the operator to perform related functions, such as busy verification or looking information up in a database of services that the provider offers to its customers.
Quite often, the customer makes a 0xe2x88x92 call because the customer does not really know how to make a particular type of call in accord with the more modem procedures. The 0xe2x88x92 caller may be seeking to make a collect call, credit card call or a bill to third party call but be unfamiliar with the 0+ dialing procedure for using the AABS system. Although the operator can handle such calls in some cases, the 0xe2x88x92 dialing process prevents the use of the AABS equipment on the call. Also, the normal 0xe2x88x92 routing directs the call to the operator provided by the local exchange carrier (LEC). If the caller desires to make a special toll call, the call needs to go through the operator and/or billing system and network of the preferred carrier picked by the calling subscriber, which may or may not be the LEC. The LEC operator must transfer the call if a carrier network other than the LEC network would provide the toll service, for example, if the call is an inter-LATA call.
In a similar manner, many people seeking directory assistance use a 0xe2x88x92 call, without dialing the directory assistance number (e.g. 411). The 0xe2x88x92 dialing for directory assistance bypasses any automated equipment available for directory assistance calls and takes the caller directly to a live operator. Also, not all operators are trained or have access to the resources for all types of service.
0xe2x88x92 calls normally go to a call completion (CC) operator. The call completion operator normally handles calls that will be completed to other destinations, for example with a special billing procedure, to the business office and/or to the repair service. Directory assistance (e.g. 411 ) calls normally go to a different operator specifically set-up for handling directory assistance. Hence, if the caller uses 0xe2x88x92 dialing the call completion operator must transfer the call to a directory assistance operator. Similar transfers are necessary for callers trying to reach the business office or repair service of their local carrier.
The use of 0xe2x88x92 on calls that should otherwise go through automated systems increases the need for network operators and increases the personnel costs of telephone carriers. Transfer of 0xe2x88x92 calls to other carriers or to other operators or carrier personnel increases the need for call completion operators and unnecessarily ties-up network resources.
Also, 911 service has become the common best mode for initiating calls to emergency services such as fire and police. Modem telephone networks now route 911 calls directly to a public safety answering point (PSAP) staffed by emergency response personnel having direct communication with fire and police departments in the area. The telephone network also provides information to the PSAP to identify the calling station and thereby enabling the PSAP equipment to precisely determine the location of an emergency.
Despite the wide acceptance of 911, many people still dial the 0xe2x88x92 operator in an emergency. The telephone network, however, does not treat 0xe2x88x92 calls as priority calls and simply routes such calls to the next available operator. At the very least, the 0xe2x88x92 handling delays the emergency handling of the call while the caller interacts with a telephone network operator, rather than going directly to the personnel at the public safety answering point (PSAP). Typically, the 0xe2x88x92 call completion operator will stay on the line while the call is handled by the personnel at the PSAP, in case further assistance is necessary.
Clearly, a need exists to automate the handling of as many different types of operator assistance calls as is practical. A more specific need exists for an efficient technique to convert at least some types of operator assistance calls (0xe2x88x92 calls or the like) into calls amenable to automated handling by existing systems. For example, it would be desirable to convert a 0xe2x88x92 call to a 0+ call for an AABS system or a call to a directory assistance system or operator. Another need is to convert certain 0xe2x88x92 calls to calls going directly to certain selected destinations. This later need is particularly critical for calls for emergency services to go directly to a PSAP or the like, essentially as if the caller had in fact dialed 911. However, it would lesson the need for operators and reduce burdens on the network if certain 0xe2x88x92 calls were converted to go directly to the carrier""s business office or repair service.
The present invention addresses the above stated needs and overcomes the problems with the prior telephone systems by automating the handling of calls involving a request for operator services, e.g. 0xe2x88x92 calls. The telephone network is upgraded, for example by programming a control resource, to process operator requests to route those calls to an automated front-end system. The front-end system provides a menu of common services currently requested of operators. A typical list of these services might include emergency service calls (e.g. 911), alternate billing calls, calls for directory assistance, request for busy verification, calls to the telco repair service office and calls to the telco business office. Of these common services, only the calls requesting busy verification need go to a traditional 0xe2x88x92 type call completion operator.
The front system receives menu selections from callers and enables the network to route the calls in accord with the menu selections. Essentially, the system converts most of the operator service calls into direct calls for the other types of services. The calls are directly routed from the caller""s central office to the destination selected (e.g. PSAP, repair or business office) or to the appropriate automated system (e.g. AABS or directory assistance). When appropriate, the processing also routes calls to subscriber-selected carriers for particular types of toll services.
Thus, one aspect of the present invention relates to a call processing method for use in a telephone network. When one of the network central offices receives an explicit request for an operator service, it will trigger access to a control resource, and route the call to a front-end call processing platform. The platform provides an announcement, typically the menu identifying available services. If the platform receives a signal from a caller selecting one of the services, the platform converts the call from an operator service call to a type of call associated with the selected service. The central office then routes the call as converted, through the network to a predetermined resource for providing the selected service.
The control resource may be distributed, for example in the network office switches, but preferably is centralized. The centralized control resource may reside in one of the central office switches of the network but preferably resides in a remote central node on the signaling network. The front-end processing resource may be distributed, for example by using adjuncts associated with or platforms within the central office switches. Preferably, the front-end processing resource also is centralized, for example in an intelligent peripheral (IP), a service circuit node (SCN) or the like.
Hence, although the improved operator service handling may utilize switch features and switch-based announcement platforms, the presently preferred embodiments utilize advanced intelligent network (AIN) technology.
In general, AIN type call processing relies heavily on signaling communication via an interoffice signaling network and call processing information stored in a central database. In an AIN type system, local and/or toll offices of the public telephone network detect one of a number of call processing events or points in calls (PICs) identified as AIN xe2x80x9ctriggersxe2x80x9d. For ordinary telephone service calls, there would be no event to trigger AIN processing; and the local and toll office switches would function normally and process such calls without referring to the central database for instructions. For purposes of the present invention, central offices will recognize an operator service request, typically a 0xe2x88x92 dialing plan, as a trigger. Any such office, which detects a trigger, suspends call processing, compiles a call data message and forwards that message via a signaling link to the central database control resource. The control resource, for example, comprises an Integrated Service Control Point (ISCP) which includes a Multi-Services Application Platform (MSAP) database functioning as a service control point (SCP). If needed, the ISCP can instruct the central office to obtain and forward additional information, such as the destination number for an alternate billing service. Once sufficient information about the call has reached the ISCP, the ISCP accesses its stored data tables in the MSAP database to translate the received message data into a call control message and returns the call control message to the office of the network via the signaling network. The network offices then use the call control message to complete the particular call.
In an embodiment of the invention utilizing this AIN technology, the SCP or ISCP serves as a centralized implementation of the control resource for the automated handling of the operator service call. Access to the central control database at least controls the routing of the operator service call to the front-end platform and may be used to control certain functions of that platform.
In the AIN preferred embodiment, the front-end functions still might reside in the switches, but preferably the front-end platform comprises one or more intelligent peripherals (IPs). The IP provides the menu and input collection functionality. Based on the caller selection, the ISCP instructs a central office switch to route each call. Only a few calls remain operator service calls, either because of a default condition or because the caller specifically selected a service like busy verification that is provided by a call completion operator. The other types of calls are converted for appropriate routing to other resources.
The preferred embodiment takes advantage of a xe2x80x9cnature of numberxe2x80x9d parameter commonly utilized in the signaling messages for call processing, in order to effect the desired conversions. When the caller requests an operator, the original signaling message contains an xe2x80x9coperator requestxe2x80x94no digitsxe2x80x9d present value for the nature of number parameter. If the caller selects any option not requiring the call completion operator in response to the menu, the control resource uses a different nature of number together with a new set of routing digits, in the instruction to the switch to reroute the call. The nature of number value in that instruction facilitates normal network routing to the appropriate resource corresponding to the new set of digits, as if the caller had originally dialed the appropriate digits for routing to that resource.
For example, if the caller selects an alternate billing option, the instruction for rerouting the call contains a nature of number for xe2x80x9cnational number planxe2x80x94operator requested.xe2x80x9d This is the same nature of number value as if the caller had dialed 0+. If the caller has now input destination number digits through interaction with the IP, the central office can route the call to the appropriate carrier and/or AABS system as if the caller had dialed 0+ the digits of the destination number.
For an emergency call, the control resource provides an instruction with a nature of number value identifying xe2x80x9cnational number planxe2x80x9d and the digits 911, enabling the switch to route the call directly to the PSAP serving the caller""s area. Similarly, for directory assistance, the control resource provides an instruction with the nature of number identifying the national number plan and the digits 411, enabling the switch to route the call to a directory assistance operator or automated directory assistance system in the caller""s area. For callers requesting the business office or the repair service, the control resource provides an instruction with the nature of number value identifying the national number plan and the destination digits for the business office or the repair service.
As a result of the inventive call processing, many calls are automatically routed to the appropriate personnel, carrier or automated system, without tying-up operators or resources going to and from an operator services switch. This reduces the number of operators required and reduces the burden of operator calls on network resources. When necessary, the network routes converted calls to appropriate pre-selected carriers in accord with existing subscriber picks. Also, such an automated approach to operator service calls provides faster routing for many of the callers.
Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the detailed description and the drawings or may be learned by practice of the invention. The inventive objects and advantages may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.